HOW TO WRITE A WINNING BUSINESS PLAN BY STANLEY RICH AND DAVID GUMPERT

Act, Don’t Plan I decided to write a book challenging the preeminence of the written business plan, with the same title as this article: Want to be up-to-date with the latest news and updates from Kauffman Entrepreneurs? Our conference room chairs were mostly desk chairs we wheeled in from vacant workstations for meetings, and then wheeled back out when meetings ended. Down certainly described our feeling, since it seemed that every new Internet-related venture in the world was obtaining financing. After all, isn’t that the first lesson you learn in any course having to do with starting a business?

The plan we actually followed was a slow-growth plan that wasn’t part of our write-up. Those write-ups got the phones ringing with new prospects, several of which turned into clients that generated additional sales. Subscribe to Newsletter Want to be up-to-date with the latest news and updates from Kauffman Entrepreneurs? We took the first choice, and lo and behold, the business began to gain traction. You might say, “Well, just having gone through the process of writing a plan probably helped you grow the business. As for the rest of the story:

No money came of this effort, and at several points during we contemplated giving up on the venture. Your message was sent successfully. Act, Don’t Plan I decided pln write a book challenging the preeminence of the written business plan, with the same title as this article: I decided to write a book challenging the preeminence of the written business plan, with the same title as this article: The realization about planning was especially advid to me, since prior to launching NetMarquee, I had authored two widely read books about how to write a business plan: Find ways to grow the business without financing or fold up the tent.

Kauffman FastTrac can help you clear the path from idea to business start. They’re like bankers in that they like to support companies that don’t necessarily need the funds. According to the conventional wisdom, we’re now in the third year of tough economic times. Second, it’s often amazing what you can accomplish without the financing you are sranley is essential to stave off failure.

Subscribe to Newsletter Want to be up-to-date with the latest news and updates from Kauffman Entrepreneurs? Thought you might like this: I spoke with entrepreneurs who had obtained financing, and I surveyed venture capitalists to learn the real role of business plans in raising money.

We went off seeking financing and, once again, it was thumbs down. The plan we actually followed was a slow-growth plan that wasn’t part of our write-up. As for the rest of the story: While it might have seemed back then that nearly every business that wanted it was receiving venture capital, the reality is that most entrepreneurs satnley the same experience my partner and I had: Our conference room chairs were mostly desk chairs we wheeled in from vacant workstations for meetings, and then wheeled back wiinning when meetings ended.

Professional investors don’t want to back a company that actually needs money. You writ an idea for a business. Increasingly, though, I am convinced that the key to the success of most young businesses is to ignore all the venture capital statistics and admonitions to write business plans, and instead use all the creativity and diligence you can muster to tend to your business.

Download Summary Business Plans That Win Stanley Rich and David Gumpert Business Lessons Ebook

Even though an acquisition is really an investment situation, the wrjte never asked to see our business plan; it only wanted to see financial projections under several different scenarios. It argues that entrepreneurs should focus their company-building efforts on such tasks as creating a Web site that communicates their business model, obtaining publicity, keeping the finances under control, and making sales before thinking seriously about writing a business plan.

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Once again, our advisory board told us not to bother. I confirmed my experience as an entrepreneur.

Burn Your Business Plan!

We engaged public-relations professionals, and they succeeded in getting several of our most successful corporate clients written up in business and industry trade publications – with mention of our agency as the key force behind these clients’ online success. Banking on the Plan But we were stubborn. We dusted off our old business plan from a couple years back and spent many hours rewriting and updating the document.

But we had recruited a board of advisors with broad experience in growth-company strategy, finance, and marketing, and the members advised us to spend less time massaging our business plan and more time making sales.

So we made a few sales, enough to stay afloat through Even as the business grew, though, we were vigilant about monitoring our expenses and aggressively collecting receivables. Once again we had to chuckle, because we had become obsessive about phoning clients on day 31 if invoices weren’t paid, and thereby maintaining a healthy cash flow.